Pasta: It's pretty much the quintessential Italian food. If you're Italian, you probably have someone in your family who makes Nonna's old gravy, and someone else who heads up the production of the homemade pasta. 

If you're Italian, you might be asked by non-Italians, from time to time, as to the authenticity of the Italian food you're currently enjoying. 

Even in The Godfather, when Solazzo takes Michael Corleone and the corrupt Captain McCluskey to Louis' Restaurant in the Bronx, dude's in an Italian restaurant, and what does he ask, in an Italian restaurant?

"How's the Italian food here?"

People are generally pretty clueless, so there's at least some mild trepidation when it comes to non-Italians tackling Italian cuisine in any unusual or innovative way. 

In the kitchen, Italian or otherwise, there's no way you'd be reaching for a jar of Ragu; it's pretty much sacrilegious and you'd be disowned for even mentioning it. 

But what happens when non-Italians make pasta, which is essentially just defined as "a food made from a mixture of flour, water, and sometimes eggs that is formed into different shapes and usually boiled," at least, according to Merriam-Webster? 

By definition, pasta can be pretty much any mixture of flour, water, and possibly eggs, so we've put together a list of the places to order non-Italian pasta dishes that are both actually delicious, and fulfill your carboloading needs. 

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1. Basta Pasta (37 West 17th Street)

Just picture Italian cuisine with a Japanese flare, and you'll have the basis of Basta Pasta.  It's an Italian restaurant run by a group of Japanese chefs, who make traditional Italian pasta dishes uniquely their own. 

For example, we've never stumbled across an Italian restaurant that serves "Linguine ai Ricci di Mare," or Linguine with fresh sea urchin and basil in a pink sauce. 

Still not convinced? Have you ever seen "Spaghetti con Uova di Pesce," which is Spaghetti with tobiko (or flying fish roe) and shiso, which is a Japanese herb. 

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2. Barraca (81 Greenwich Avenue)

Even though Italians make amazing pasta, Spaniards have fideuá, which is similar to a paella, but uses pasta noodles instead of rice. While this may seem pretty ingenious, it was a dish created mainly out of necessity. 

Historically, fideuá was invented in Spain when a cook used pasta because he had run out of rice. And that inventory mistake has given us this pretty dope dish. 

If you've never had the pleasure of trying a fideuá, or even paella, head to Barraca and order the "fideuá" made with cuttlefish, calamari, monkfish, mussels, clams, shrimp, piquillo peppers and alioli (a Spanish garlic mayo). 

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3. PYLOS (128 East 7th Street)

Locationally, Greece is pretty darn close to Italy. It only seems natural that pasta migrated over to the Greeks. Do you ever crave lasagne with a Greek flare? Cue pastitsio. 

Pylos' "pastitsio" is a terrine of baked pasta, layered with an aromatic meat sauce and béchamel. It's the Greek comfort food for a chilly day. Where as lasagne uses a flat noodle, pastitsio is made with tubular noodles laid upon one another. 

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4. Little Egypt Restaurant (66-28 Fresh Pond Road - Ridgewood)

Pasta and macaroni (tube shaped pasta that we American smother with cheese and devour on a pretty regular basis, is even better when served as this Egyptian dish. 

Koshari/koshary is a typical Egyptian street food made with rice, lentils, chickpeas, and pasta, and topped with a spicy, acidic tomato sauce. 

"Little Egypt Famous Koshary" is served as mixed rice, lentils, macaroni, noodles, chickpeas, covered with a garlic homemade tomato sauce and topped with friend onions. It's also served with a vinaigrette dressing.

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5. Bodrum Mediterranean Restaurant (584 Amsterdam Avenue)

So many people love ravioli, whether they be filled with cheese, lobster, or meat. Ravioli is basically the Italian dumpling, yet so many other cultures an egg pasta to make their version of a dumpling. 

For example, take the Turkish Manti. It is a dumpling made with an egg pasta that typically encloses a seasoned ground beef or lamb. However, while the exterior seems more like a ravioli, the manti is typically steamed. 

Try Bodrum's "Manti," which is made with ground lamb, fresh herbs, and served in a garlic yogurt sauce. 

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6. Bella Caracas Café (74-17 Metropolitan Avenue)

Similar to lasagne and pastitsio, Venezuelan pastichio is a pasta dish layered with other ingredients. It's also on the menu at Bella Caracas, which means you can have a hands on introduction to this dish for dinner tonight. 

A Venezualan pastichio is traditionally made with a flat lasagne noodle, alternating layers of a meat or bechamel sauce, and cheese. It is sometimes made with ham.

The layer of bechamel sauce makes pastichio a much creamier version than the traditional Italian lasagne. 

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[Feature Image Courtesy Four Square]